As is often the case with American bands who strive to sound British, Chicago’s Smith Westerns lack that all important seam of rain-soaked, wind-chafed self-loathing. They can jangle and coo with conviction, for sure, but their angst feels painted on, as much an affect as the indie disco reverb and twee vocals.
Rather than representing a flaw, however, this keeps their music fresh and saves it from mere pastiche. On their third album, they go the Full Shoegaze, frontman Cullen Omori delivering his lyrics in a crestfallen quaver while, all around guitars shudder and howl, like wind battering a tin roof. Misleadingly, the record opens on a relatively upbeat note, the lulling ‘3 Am Spiritual’ softening the trio’s gloominess with a home-grown country rock twang.
From there, however, the mood turns bleaker: ‘Only Natural’ is a lonely hours sob session stretched across four minutes of limber indie pop, while ‘White Oath’ builds from an acoustic ballad into a trauma-filled noise-rock blitzkrieg. You wonder how compelling Smith Westerns might be if they could find a voice that is uniquely their own.

Key Track: '3 Am Spiritual'